One of the most (and really only) frustrating parts to my job is persuading others to see just how important physical education is. Battling the stereotypical gym teacher who "rolls the balls out" is something I've dealt with personally on more than one occasion. Whenever I am questioned on why PE matters, I'm overwhelmed with how many different answers I could give or directions I could take. I came across this article, which touches on so many of those answers, that I had to share. I hope many PE teachers are continuing to fight the stereotype, and, if in a Christian setting, are remembering to share with their students all of these ideas (regularly!) that show just how much God values Physical Education!
PE THROUGH A CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE
“The book of Genesis reveals God as the only creator of all
things, from the universe to the smallest creature on earth. He is majestically
in charge of the whole world. The coming of sin into the world destroyed this
heavenly balance and presented man with his own route to follow. The life,
death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ later opened up the way of
reconciliation and once again brought man back into an eternal relationship
with his creator. Grasping this truth about God as both creator and redeemer
must inevitably change our attitude to him and the way we live our lives
socially, mentally, spiritually, and physically.” –This brings me to my favorite subject: PHYSICAL EDUCATION.
By its very nature physical education breeds
in a social environment where mental, emotional, physical and spiritual
tensions are in abundance. As such it is a great training ground for the
Christian and the sharpest of places for him to work out his faith. Jesus calls
us to live out our faith and to go where people can be found as sports are a
huge part of our society. –What a blessing for me to be part of each student’s
Christian training starting in their elementary years!
"To God, there is no
sacred-secular divide. Everything belongs to him, even sport and fitness. We
are “to love God and enjoy him forever” and this can be fulfilled as
effectively on the sports field as it can inside a church.”
Psalm 139:13-16 talks about the intricacy of God knitting
together ‘body and soul’ with words like ‘skillfully wrought’ and ‘wonderfully
made’. The complete person is not just body, nor spirit or intellect. He is ALL
of these things and is given the opportunity to glorify God in all of these
areas.
To educate children
physically is to enable them to develop naturally in stature, to discover
potential of their talents and make them aware of the need to keep their bodies
in good shape!
1. Growth and development
Luke
2:52 “And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God
and man.” Within this short verse is the intellectual
growth that comes through wisdom, the physical
development that comes through stature, the social and emotional growth through man’s favor and the spiritual maturity that develops as a
result of God’s favor.
2. Physical Conditioning
We are
called to be good stewards by God. This stewardship includes taking care of our
body. Part of taking care means conditioning it so that when we give our body
back to our creator we can show God that we have treated it as a temple of the
Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Our
task should always be to glorify God by how we use our bodies and seek to
become all that we are capable of being through the physical talents He has
given us!
3. Rest and Relaxation
After
the task of creating the world, God rested. We can only endure so much
emotional, spiritual, mental, and physical stress. There is a need to be free
from work and responsibilities. This is a time for leisure, rest, and recreation.
-I hope to instill confidence in my students as they are introduced to many
recreational activities they can use for a lifetime.
Talents are given by God and our
bodies are considered a temple of the Holy Spirit. In this setting, we are able
to practice discipline, cooperation,
confidence, encouragement, leadership, loyalty, and integrity- a place for
the Christian character to respond to God’s calling to strive toward its goal as
Philippians 3:13 says, “I press on towards the goal to win the prize.”
COMPETITION
“Compete” means “to
strive together”. The people we compete against are co-competitors rather
than opponents. In sport, competition helps us maximize our potential and
maximize our talents to the best of our ability. I believe God does care about
who wins the game, but more importantly, he cares about how we play the game,
how we treat opponents, and how we react to the outcome.
Our faith walk is a
marathon.
A good analogy for our faith walk isn’t a sprint, but a
marathon. It’s a journey we are on, not a finish line we are racing to. It is something
we continue working at, with a lot of diligent training and persistence. “Those
who wait on the Lord shall run and not be weary and walk and not faint.”
SPORTSMANSHIP OR CHRISTMANSHIP?
2 Timothy 2:5 “If anyone competes as an athlete, he does not
receive the victor’s crown unless he competes according to the rules.”
Christmanship: embodies the best of sportsmanship (fun
fairness, and being a good loser) with the best of sportsmanship (giving one’s
best effort to win) but it transcends and surpasses them both. It challenges
the Christian athlete to compete as Christ would compete.”
PERSPECTIVE
Our motivation is running the race for the eternal prize.
Through this perspective, we are able to: respond to challenge, show
commitment, courage, finish the race, develop patience, compete against the odds,
train, and endure.
-“Sport is not inherently bad, nor it is inherently good. It
is what we make it!” –Dr. Rainer Martens
-Taken from: The Christian Institute, The Teaching of
Physical Education: A Biblical Perspective
